The best local-first AI note-taking apps with mobile support in 2026

The best local-first AI note-taking apps with mobile support in 2026 are Obsidian, Anytype, Logseq and AppFlowy. Each keeps your notes on your own devices first and ships apps for iPhone and Android. They differ in two places that matter more than any feature list: how your phone gets your notes (a paid sync service, peer-to-peer sync, your own server, or a cloud folder you already use), and where the AI runs when you ask it something. Barside, the app we make, is a desktop app for Windows, Mac and Linux with no mobile app, and this guide says plainly what it offers instead.

Everything about the other four apps comes from their own pricing pages, help docs, blog posts and code repositories, as we read them on October 16, 2026. We ran no tests on them and took no screenshots, so open the linked page before you rely on a detail. Where an official page said nothing on a point, we say we found nothing.

Which local-first AI note apps have a mobile app?

The best local-first AI notes apps with a mobile app share one idea: the main copy of your notes lives on your devices, and a server, when there is one, only helps them stay in step. Past that, the four differ a lot. This table sums up what each one's own pages say.

Which one is best for you depends on the column you care about most. If you want plain files that any editor opens, Obsidian is the clear pick. If you want sync that the company cannot read and a choice of network, look at Anytype. If you think in outlines and daily journals, Logseq fits, with a beta caveat for its newest version. If you want AI that runs on your own computer next to Notion-style docs, AppFlowy is the one that documents it.

How Obsidian gets your vault onto your phone

Obsidian's help page on syncing says it “stores notes locally on your device so you always have access to them, even offline,” and that your data is stored as files in a folder called a vault. Getting that folder onto a phone is your choice, and the sync help page is candid about each route:

• Obsidian Sync. The officially supported method on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android, with a local copy kept on each device.
• iCloud Drive. Recommended between iPhone, iPad and Mac. The page warns that iCloud Drive on Windows may duplicate or corrupt files.
• OneDrive and Google Drive. Neither is officially supported for vaults on iOS, and OneDrive has limits on Android.
• Syncthing. Peer-to-peer with no cloud storage, though the page notes that the official Android app is no longer maintained and points to a community fork. It works best when one device is always on.
• Git. Strong version control, but you push and pull changes by hand.

The page also advises against running two sync services on one vault at once. Obsidian itself is free with no sign-up, and its pricing page lists Sync at US$4 per user a month billed annually, or US$5 billed monthly, as of October 2026. The same page says Sync data is protected with AES-256 encryption that keeps Obsidian from reading it, and it lists version history and shared vaults among the features.

For AI, Obsidian leans on its community. In October 2026, the plugin directory lists 8,977 plugins and 885 themes built by the community, and its AI category holds 1,063 plugins. We found no AI feature on the Obsidian pages we read, so the model you use, and what text leaves your device, depends on the plugin you install. Our guide to AI second brain apps that answer only from your notes looks closely at one popular plugin, Obsidian Copilot.

Anytype: local-first sync, phone apps and an AI still in alpha

Anytype's official pages cover mobile, local-first sync and AI, but the AI part is still an early alpha. Its documentation says everything you create lives on your device first, and that you can work completely offline. Anytype's GitHub organization lists official clients for iOS and Android next to the desktop app for macOS, Linux and Windows.

The Sync & Backup page describes three network modes:

1. The Anytype Network, the default, which the page also calls local-first sync. You can go fully offline, sync over your local network peer-to-peer, or both. Every user gets a remote backup node with free storage that a membership can increase, on servers in data centers in the European Union. Only files such as images and videos count toward that storage.
2. Self-hosting, on your own infrastructure.
3. Local-only, which syncs through no server at all, so your data stays on your devices.

Anytype recommends the default network. Its privacy and encryption page says your keys are generated on your device and never sent to Anytype, and that content is encrypted before it syncs, so losing your key means losing access to your data for good. The sync page warns against keeping Anytype's data in network drives or cloud-synced folders, which it says will likely cause corruption, and it has steps for switching networks in the mobile app too.

On AI, Anytype's February 2026 community update sets the goal that you “should be able to use no AI, local AI, cloud AI, or a hybrid stack,” entirely on your terms. A news post on Anytype's community forum from May 28, 2026 introduces the AI Ally, codenamed Bobrik, as “a very early alpha version” with a waitlist. In that alpha it is “powered by Claude Sonnet on our infra and through Anthropic's API,” its conversations are reviewed by the Anytype team, and it lives in its own one-to-one space. The post says that review is temporary, and that model choice, including a local on-device model, will be up to you. Anytype also publishes an MCP server that lets AI assistants work with your Anytype objects. We found no statement about which devices the AI Ally runs on.

Logseq: two apps, and phone sync in beta

Logseq split into two apps in 2026, and its announcement of April 24, 2026 explains both. Logseq OG keeps file-based graphs in Markdown and now gets security and Electron updates but no new features. The new Logseq keeps each graph in a database, and the post says “your database graph runs exclusively on your local device.” It calls the new app the main version going forward, and says both versions will be available on iOS and Android.

Sync for the new version is Logseq Sync. You set an encryption password, your data is encrypted on your device, and the encrypted pieces sync to Logseq's servers. The first invitations to the iOS TestFlight app and the new Sync went to the project's Open Collective sponsors.

The releases page shows where things stand in October 2026. Version 2.0.2, from October 7, is labeled Beta Testing and brings “smoother editing, faster startup, and more reliable everyday workflows to the DB version.” Its notes link a TestFlight beta for iOS, say 2.0.2 is under App Store review, and list Android fixes, sync triggers among them. The 2.0.1 notes ask you to back up important data before testing. On AI, the April post lists an MCP server for desktop and the command line among recent improvements, and we found no built-in AI feature in the post or the newest release notes.

AppFlowy: local AI on the desktop, apps on every system

AppFlowy's official pages put mobile apps, offline work and local AI side by side, but we found no page that says its local AI runs on a phone. The download page offers apps for Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android, plus a browser version. Its GitHub repository calls it “the AI workspace where you achieve more without losing control of your data,” under the AGPLv3 license, and says the Android app needs Android 10 or above.

The Notion vs AppFlowy page lists an offline workspace that works across platforms “including completely offline,” and self-hosting on your own hardware, your cloud region or a fully air-gapped environment. It says you can run local AI through Ollama or LM Studio, and it describes Vault Workspace, a workspace type whose AI “runs entirely on your device,” with local AI search that answers questions fully offline. That page does not say whether Vault is paid or which systems it supports. An AppFlowy post of April 3, 2025 made Local AI free and said it was available on macOS (M1 or above), Windows (10 or above) and Linux, with no mention of phones. It also said your data is not sent to AI service providers when the model runs locally.

For sync, the pricing page offers AppFlowy Cloud and a Self-Hosted option. As of October 2026, the Personal plan is free, and Pro costs US$12 per member a month billed annually, or US$16 billed monthly. AppFlowy's release post of April 21, 2025 named GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1-mini and Claude 3.7 Sonnet for AppFlowy AI, and we found no current page listing its cloud models, so check before you send it anything sensitive.

Where the AI runs matters more than the phone app

Local-first describes where your notes live. The AI is a separate decision, and the four apps make it in four ways:

• You pick a plugin. In Obsidian, AI comes from the community plugin you install, and that plugin decides what text leaves your device.
• The vendor runs a cloud model. Anytype's AI Ally alpha runs on Claude Sonnet, on Anytype's infrastructure and through Anthropic's API.
• A model runs on your computer. AppFlowy's local AI uses Ollama or LM Studio, and its April 2025 post listed desktop systems only.
• An outside AI app connects in. Logseq and Anytype both publish MCP servers, so an AI app that speaks MCP can connect to your notes.

On a phone, the question gets sharper. We found no page among the four that says an AI model runs on the phone itself, so if you need AI that never leaves your hardware, plan to use it on a computer. Before you turn any AI feature on, find out which company receives your text and what it keeps. Our guide to AI note apps and client confidentiality has a checklist for that.

Barside has no mobile app: what it offers instead

Barside is a free desktop app for Windows, Mac and Linux, and it has no mobile app. If you need to write notes on your phone, one of the four apps above will serve you better. Barside is built for the hours you spend at a computer, and it keeps that work local:

• Your library stays on your computer. Notes, tasks, Reading, recordings and transcripts live in Barside's data folder, work offline and need no account for personal use.
• AI that you connect. Barside has no AI model of its own. You connect your own Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or OpenRouter account in Settings → AI, and without one, no note is ever sent to an AI. AI search runs the search on your computer, sends only your question and up to six matching excerpts, and cites them in the answer.
• Sync between computers. With Barside Plus, at US$20 a month or US$200 a year plus sales tax, cloud sync keeps your notes the same on each computer where you turn it on. Sync covers computers only, and it is encrypted in transit and at rest but not end-to-end encrypted, so Barside's server can read what you sync.
• Things that arrive while you are away. Newsletters sent to your Barside email address wait on Barside's server for up to 30 days while your computer is off. With Plus, cloud agents run your scheduled agents, such as a morning briefing, on Barside's server while your computers are off, and their notes arrive through cloud sync.
• Backups you hold. A free ZIP export moves your whole library, and Plus adds a daily cloud backup that is encrypted on your computer before upload.

Set up Barside as the desktop half of your notes

Say you keep a phone notes app for quick capture and want the computer side in Barside. These steps get you there:

1. Install Barside from the download page on Windows, Mac or Linux.
2. Open Settings → AI and connect Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or OpenRouter with one click.
3. To bring an Obsidian vault across, open Settings & backups, choose Import next to Import notes, then Obsidian and Choose vault folder. Links, embedded images, checklists and front matter come along, and your vault stays as it was. Each import adds its notes again, so treat it as a one-time copy rather than a way to keep two apps in step.
4. For newsletters, sign in, open Settings → Reading and choose Get my address.
5. If you work on more than one computer, get Barside Plus and turn on Sync this PC in Settings → Cloud sync on each one. On Linux the switch is called Sync this computer, and in Barside for Mac Sync this Mac.

Which app fits which person

The people below are made-up examples that show the trade-offs, and none of them is a real customer.

• Example: a nurse with an iPhone and a Mac. She writes short notes between shifts and wants them on her Mac at home. Obsidian with iCloud Drive is the route its help page recommends for that pair, and Obsidian Sync adds version history if she wants it.
• Example: a therapist who wants nobody else able to read synced notes. Anytype encrypts content before it syncs, with keys generated on her devices and never sent to Anytype. Local-only mode skips servers entirely.
• Example: a PhD student who outlines everything in daily journals. Logseq OG keeps those journals as Markdown files today. The new database version and its phone sync are in beta, so he backs up first, as the release notes ask.
• Example: a product team that wants AI without sending docs to a cloud model. AppFlowy's April 2025 post lists its local AI through Ollama on Mac (M1 or later), Windows 10 or later and Linux. Its iOS and Android apps cover their phones, though they should check which AI features those apps include, since the pages we read do not say.
• Example: a consultant who works at a desk all day. Calls, client notes, reading and tasks all happen at a computer. Barside keeps them in one library, with call transcripts made on the computer, and a phone notes app catches the odd idea on the train.

What to check before you trust a phone with your notes

1. Where the main copy lives. On each of your devices, or on a server with a cache on your phone.
2. Who can read the synced copy. Obsidian says its Sync encryption keeps it from reading your data, and Anytype and Logseq describe encryption on your device with a key or password you hold. Barside's cloud sync is readable by Barside's server, as its privacy page says.
3. What the AI feature sends, and to whom. A local model, a vendor's cloud model, or a plugin of your choice each send different things to different places.
4. Whether the phone app is finished. Logseq's new version is in beta, and Anytype's AI Ally is an alpha.
5. How you get your data out. Plain files, as in Obsidian and Logseq OG, are simple to take to another app. Barside exports a ZIP backup made for restoring into Barside, with no Markdown export.

Barside also counts which features are used, by name only, and a switch in Settings turns that off. Read how the AI you connect uses your data for the rest of Barside's AI privacy details.

How Barside compares

For the wider field, our list of the best local-first apps covers Obsidian, Anytype, Logseq, Joplin, AFFiNE and apps beyond notes. The Obsidian alternative guide compares Barside with Obsidian feature by feature, and how to sync notes between computers walks through Barside's sync, backup and ZIP routes. If you came for a second brain more than a phone app, the best second brain apps guide weighs capture, linking and search.

If your phone is where ideas start, choose one of the four apps above. If most of your work happens at a computer, Barside keeps it local there, and a phone app can sit beside it for quick capture.

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